Most of the progress at the moment has involved fixing things. First off was a leaky fuel pipe, Aya was dropping the diesel like a nervous puppy. My initial patch of electrical tape was a joke. After a trip to the hardware shop I settled for some of this amazing Rubber Wrap and some clamps. Worked like a charm, so added it to the emergency kit. I got around to getting a replacement part later from the friendly people at Piaggio SA. I'll admit it's the first time I have ever worked on an engine in my life, previous knowledge was pretty much limited to where to put fuel in the vehicle. Tried to think of it as a Mechano set for grown ups. :-)
I got pretty frustrated that the battery kept dying and the battery test said it had no dead cells. I charged it a few times and it still cut out in random places, so I got a Jump Starter Battery Kit at the nearest Autozone. Every vehicle should have one, jumper cables are so last century. More about that in another post.
Eventually thanks to Google and a multimeter I figured out that the vehicle came without a voltage regulator, as in part missing. Arrrrrrrrggggh, teething problems! :-( The voltage regulator allows the alternator to recharge the battery, hence the drainage problems. Pricey part to have had missing, but easy to install once I saw how it was setup at the dealer.
Eventually got around to removing the ice-cream signage, no more awkward ice-cream moments, relief. The weight of the roof that was removed was insanely heavy, the metal sheeting is not a great material to be using, I will most certainly be aiming to use materials that keep the weight down. It's now at a height of 2m with the top off. I now have a vehicle more suited to the urban environment as general building parking height restrictions are at 2.1 meters. It was great to be able to finally drive it to work and scope out the routes.
After getting my grease monkey on and taking it in for a service it's like a whole new machine. The engine is purring like our chilly cats under a warm blanket these last few freezing weeks. Next thing is to run it in for 2000km before they can tune it up and increase the top speed which is sitting at a lowly 45km/h till then. I am also please that after all the repairs the power output from the alternator is sufficient that I can run a dual battery system. Can't wait to get cracking on that. What's next...
Build a basic cardboard prototype around the frame to see if I got the ergonomics right.
Continue sourcing and acquiring sponsors and materials.
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